Checking in

Wow. Has it really been a week? Have I been so busy that I just haven't had a free minute to sit down at the cracktop and fill you all in on my crazy life?

No.

It wasn't a bad week. I mean, it wasn't the week before (work-wise) where I thought seriously that finally this job would kill me. I was busy, absolutely, and being an assistant again was fraught with its own internal trauma (there are SO MANY things about being an assistant that I don't miss/am not good at, and when you actually have to BE an assistant again you realize how much you don't miss/are not good at them). Many things irritated the crap out of me - frozen computers, faulty printers, majorly annoying passive/aggressive coworkers (okay, coworker), rain, other drivers, the fact that they are NEVER GOING TO SETTLE ON MY AUTO CLAIM, the hard-sell at the tanning salon, being broke, the bag I've been carrying for a year (that never used to happen)... I could go on and on. But for the most part the week flew by and I'm guessing I did an okay job because I am going back there on Wednesday.

I have Monday and Tuesday off because I can and for no other reason, unless you call wanting two extra afternoon naps a reason to take some time off, and I'm not really sure what I am going to do. I am cleaning right now (pretty productive, aren't I? I hate cleaning so much that I will clean a room, then take a break, clean a room, take a break, take out some trash, take a break... you get the idea), so that I don't have to feel bad about not doing it tomorrow or Tuesday. I kind of want to go to the beach. I think I need the ocean's energy since Mexico is out of the question for now (I WILL make that December trip work, believe me).

Marita and Dave are in Mexico right now. Apparently living in the Midwest and having a dual income allows these things much more frequently than living in the Pacific Northwest and being single and wallowing in debt does. Here's a picture she sent me yesterday while she was settling in.
Nice, huh? It's inspiring to me, I guess, to start the December plan or at least to gas up the Liz and drive to Cannon Beach tomorrow, just to get near that water. It's a plan.

Thursday night I met that Marshy for dinner at DeCarli's in Beaverton. I thought I'd give it a plug because usually the only thing you find in downtown Beaverton are Italian joints that have been around forever, sketchy Thai places that change names as often as (I'm hoping) they change their fryer grease, and skateboard shops. And the Broadway Saloon, I guess. DeCarli's has been around for about two years (though I drive by it seriously no less than five times in any given week and have never noticed it) (which isn't that surprising, really) and when we went it had a pretty good crowd. I always notice the bar area and it looked nice. I like a good bar. The food was good, mildly pricey, good wine list (if you like wine) (I'm not a huge fan), service was okay. It has been compared to places in The Pearl District (don't get me started. I hate pretentious Portland neighborhoods because it's PORTLAND, not San Francisco, not Seattle, not Austin... it's PORTLAND. It might as well be Boise.), and I get that. Portion, service, prices, atmosphere. But it's downtown Beaverton and I think it shares a wall with a head shop and I KNOW the apartments above the storefronts in the adjacent buildings are horrific little hovels with peeling paint, bugs, and crackheads (I KNOW this). But it was a good dining experience and I would definitely recommend it, because maybe what downtown Beaverton needs is more places like DeCarli's. If life ever finds you in the area, you should check it out. Really.

Other than that, whiling away my life and waiting for the next big thing. Isn't that what life really is all about?